Foreign Aid & Civil Society
A Week of Philanthropy
Time for some reflection. The past two weeks were spent organizing and attending a conference on philanthropy. Bringing together a select crowd, we discussed NGOs, family foundations, world disasters, and development. I am now full of statistics. About US$270 billion donated in philanthropic funds in 2005 to charitable causes in the USA – 75% from [...]
The Power of the NGO
Back in university, I had heated debates with my colleages from the US and Europe, on labor and environmental standards. As I’ve said before, I am vehemently against them. For me, they constitute at best protectionism by other means. At worst, for some it is neo-colonialism by means of the NGO. I do not, necessarily [...]
Globalization and the Race to the Bottom
Today I bring forth two interesting, long, articles, each with the same simple lesson. Scientific American: Does Globalization Help or Hurt the Poor, by Pranab Bardhan Reason: Why Poor Countries are Poor, by Tim Harford Pranab Bardhan’s discussion reminds me of debates in school on the foretold ‘race to the bottom’. I fought vehemently against labor and [...]
Corporate Responsibility and Profits
I have been doing some research recently on Socially Responsible Investing (SRI). These days, in the banking world, SRI is en vogue. Banks are constantly introducing special investment funds with positive or negative screening criteria. Other forms of SRI are also gaining popularity – as an advocacy mechanism as well as social venture capital. SRI [...]
NGO’s Claim Victory
This may not have made it to your headlines. The French President has ordered a ‘toxic’ ship home. The ship had been the rallying point for much of the environmental community. It had been on its way to a ship breaking yard in India, where the ship – decommissioned in 1997 – was to be [...]
The Incentives of Development Aid
The longer I stay here, the more skeptical I am of development assistance. Examples keep emerging of the perverse effects of development aid. In the refugee areas of Nairobi – such as Eastleigh (where Somali refugees have settled) – donor dollars provide health services, water, and infrastructure. While the neighborhood is not heaven, what does [...]
The Role of the Public Sector
I just received a refresher course in the difference between the public and private sectors. This, during a visit to the Horticulture Crop Development Authority (HCDA). For background, the HCDA is a government institution that provides services such as pre- and post-harvest training to horticultural producers, and creates market linkages for exporters. The most interesting [...]
Neutrality & Objectivity
My job, as GSB broker, has been to facilitate pro-poor investments. I try to identify sectors and industries where private enterprise can introduce services for the poor or reduce costs for them, and I try to identify companies that are interested in such BOP investments. It is an exciting job. In a country like Kenya [...]
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